"Sharing knowledge is of strategic importance to any knowledge-based organization." (ILO: Results-based management: (b) knowledge strategy, Governing Body, 300th Session, Geneva, Nov. 2007, GB.300/PFA/9/2, p. 2) (pdf 101 KB)
"The experience and knowledge gained by the ILO are organizational assets which should be safeguarded and used to inform future activities and service constituents."
(ILO: Strategic Policy Framework (2006-09) (and preview of the Programme and Budget proposals for 2006-07), Governing Body, 291st Session, Geneva, Nov. 2004, GB.291/PFA/9, p. 14) (pdf 200 KB)
   
The ILO engages in a variety of knowledge sharing activities. An overview of these activities has been grouped into seven main categories
Communities of practice and networks
Exchange platforms
Forums
Newsletters
Repositories
Databases
Departmental and Office overviews
By clicking on each of the above, you will be taken to a short description of the activity, as well as a list of useful links and documents provided by the Departments or Units undertaking the activity.
Documents supplied by Departments and Units may not exist in all three official ILO languages. Initiatives which have seen little or no activity recently or are due to expire shortly may have been excluded from this overview.
Communities of practice and networks
Two well established approaches to knowledge sharing are communities of practice and networks. They help users with a common interest to interact, they can act as a support group and they can provide a means of cross unit cooperation. CoPs and networks can share information by using newsletters, forums, meetings or virtual workspaces.
The ILO has an informal community of practice on knowledge sharing. Members meet regularly to discuss activities, share experiences, seek ideas and meet with other people (inside and outside the ILO) who are active in knowledge sharing. If you would like to join the group, please contact Esther Germans at germans@ilo.org.
The ILO also has a community of practice of facilitators who have been trained in a variety of facilitation techniques for knowledge sharing. The facilitators are applying these techniques in a wide range of ILO meetings; in-house, with other development partners and with constituents.
In the ILO
Collaboration between the ILO and other institutions
Exchange platforms
Exchange platforms are websites where information and resources are posted by a number of groups or people on a particular topic of interest.
Forums
Forums can be used to share and discuss information and ideas amongst participants, either virtually or in person. The following are some examples of forums at the ILO:
Newsletters
Several ILO departments and units use newsletters to share information about their work on a regular basis.
Click for a list of ILO newsletters.
Repositories
Repositories are used by members of communities of practice, networks, departments or organizations to store their accumulated knowledge and share it amongst their participants. The ILO has started to develop digital repositories in order to facilitate knowledge sharing.
The ILO Library is currently developing an institutional digital repository for all ILO publications.
Examples of operational repositories are:
Databases
Databases are used to manage and store information in an organized way that makes information retrieval easier. The ILO's databases provide access to information and resources created and gathered by the organization.
Departmental and Office overviews
The documents contained in this section provide an overview of knowledge sharing initiatives undertaken by Departments and Units.
Bureau of Library and Information Services
DOSCOM
Employment
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour
Local Economic Development Programme
Regional Office for Africa
Regional Office for the Arab States
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Regional Office for Latina America and the Caribbean
Social Dialogue
Social Protection
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